Sameika Maitland
Notwithstanding Juliette Mullings – Herbert “Buds” Gayle niece – is an Alumna of Beersheba Primary School; dissatisfaction with existing conditions at her alma mater have caused her and other Beersheba Primary School Alumni to either opt to transfer their children from their alma mater to New Roads All Age School or they have bye-passed Beersheba Primary School and have their children admitted to neighbouring New Roads All School in the bordering parish of Westmoreland.
MEET SAMEIKA MAITLAND, ACHIEVER, TRAILBLAZER AND CRITICAL THINKER
Sameika Maitland, 12 year old daughter of Juliette Mullings, single parent domestic worker of New Savannah, New Market, Saint Elizabeth who is forced to survive at subsistence level well below the poverty line, is one of these students of a Beersheba Primary School Alumnus who attends New Road All School.
When the Secretary/Treasurer Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) recently visited New Roads All Age School and met the Principal and Staff to solicit their assistance to identify and provide resources for the cultural presentation that will be held at Beersheba Primary School and BLACK RIVER DAY on July 30 and 31, 2014 respectively, he was introduced to Sameika Maitland who is one of 38 students at the school who have excelled in the Ministry of Education 2014 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). Notwithstanding the fact that Sameika is the child of a single parent and she has never seen or known her father, Sameika, a quiet critical thinker and a well motivated student, passed Mathematics with 96 and she has an average of 91.2. Sameika’s comprehensive GSAT results are as follows:
Mathematics 96
Language Arts 87
Communication Task 11
Social Studies 92
Science 90
POVERTY CAST SAMEIKA’S FATE TO THE WIND
When the Secretary/Treasurer Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) met Sameika, he received information from the Administration at New Roads All Age School that although the Ministry of Education placed her at the prestigious Ivy League Hampton School, Malvern, Saint Elizabeth as a result of her excellent overall performance in the 2014 GSAT Exam, her single parent mother who became very confused had already began the process to transfer Sameika from Hampton School to Black River High School because she could not afford the cost that could be incurred for Sameika’s Boarding, Auxiliary and other inescapable miscellaneous school fees.
After Sameika’s plight was brought to the attention of the Secretary/Treasurer Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA), cognizant of his own plight and struggle for survival as a student at Beersheba Primary School who use to walk from his home at “Mount Ease”, Flint Valley, New Market, Saint Elizabeth to New Roads All Age School where he sat and passed first, second, and third Jamaica Local Examinations, the Secretary/Treasurer sprang into action and in consultation and acquiescence with Sameika’s mother and the Principal and Staff at New Roads All Age School, the transfer process was aborted and abandoned.
The Secretary/Treasurer Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) at his own expense transported and accompanied Sameika and her mother to the orientation at Hampton School on July 3, 2014 so as to enable Sameika to receive her admission package that will enable her to attend school as a Boarding Student commencing September 3, 2014.
SAMEIKA’S URGENT NEEDS
Sameika needs school uniforms, shoes, books, a book bag, food for her tuck box, toothpaste and other items for her personal hygiene and money to defray the cost of her boarding, auxiliary and other inescapable miscellaneous expenses.
SAMEIKA’S MOST URGENT NEED
Sameika’s most urgent need is money to defray the cost of JMD 96,300.00 (USD 892.00) that must be paid before August 25, 2014 so as to enable her to return to school on July 25, 2014 to spend one week on campus as boarding student who will undergone additional orientation prior to her return to school on September 3, 2014.
BOSA IS SAMEIKA’S SAFETY NET
Although Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) does not have financial resources to assist Sameika as the Association would like to do, it is not going to walk away and allow her to fall through the cracks. It is not Sameika’s fault that she finds herself being the child of a poverty stricken single parent mother. Beersheba Old Student Association (BOSA) is confident that Sameika will use education to dismantle and unshackle herself from poverty in which she is currently entrapped.
SAMEIKA DESERVES THE CHANCE TO CONTINUE TO EXCELL
What Sameika needs is the chance to demonstrate that she can continue to excel academically. Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) in keeping with its mission and vision to broaden its scope is committed to be the safety net that is going to give Sameika this chance. The Association is appealing to all Beersheba Primary School Alumni, New Roads All Age School Alumni, Honorary BOSA Members, Friends, Well-wishers and other persons who frequently visit and browse through its website or might have just stumbled into it accidentally and is touched by Sameika’s plight, to have a caring heart and positively answer the question that was asked in the headline of this article by saying: “I WILL HELP.”
Please send your generous financial contribution before July 25, 2014 to:
Vincent Samuels
Secretary/Treasurer
Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA)
99 Jacaranda Avenue
Black River P.O.
Saint Elizabeth
Jamaica West Indies
E-mail: beershebaoldstudentsassn@gmail.com
Telephone: 297-1515
All financial contribution will be promptly acknowledged.
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